Hmmm. Brown. Three column. Blogspot Template. Pictures of books the author is currently reading. Author is only fourteen. Does it get any worse than this? Please, please, PLEASE let there be something worth reading in the content!! I always tread upon “teenage” sites with a bit of trepidation.
The site is either going to kill me with it’s typical teen-lingo and behavior, or I’m going to find a teenager that complete renews my vision of what a “teenager” is. It’s hard to tell by the “More About Me” Section, but I’m hoping against hope that this young girl (who calls herself Tyler) can shock and amaze me. She gets half a bonus point for using a masculine name because my parents blessed me with one as well.
I came to “There’s Something About Gummy Worms” to read a BLOG. If I want a book review, I’ll go to Amazon.com. Book reviews in a weblog are boring. And this is coming from an AVID reader. If you’re into this kind of thing, have a side blog or a “Book Section” or something to that extent, but don’t bore the masses with your reading habits. Most of the general population doesn’t care what you’re reading or how it is and it will immediately turn them off to reading your blog. If I wasn’t doing a review, I never would have gone past the first entry. Put this book stuff somewhere else.
In reference to the “general” state of writing, I’d say the author shows a bit of promise. But for now, this blog is a simple run down of certain daily events without too much content behind it. No one wants a basic rehearsal of what you did, where you went, or who you saw. Give us more of your THOUGHTS on the events and less on the events themselves.
I want more of the humor that I see slowly developing in your writing. For example: “‘Coach John’ wears glaringly yellow socks that are always pulled up all the way to his knees. Whenever he moves his arms you can see his ghostly white upper arms, and he bobs his head when he talks. However, since all of those were shallow sorts of annoyances I was willing to give the guy a break.” It may not be drop dead hilarious, but it is comical. More importantly, it gives me the feeling that you’re going to grow into a blogger who’s going to make people laugh at the way you view things in your life.
I didn’t see the author as a “typical teen” but she didn’t exactly wow me either. She is certainly extremely mature for her age and I think with a little work she’s going to be an amazing asset to the weblog community, but not for a few years.
She stated, “I’ve been reading a lot of blogs lately in my quest to define my writing style in order to make my blog more interesting to the lonely Internet wanderers who stumble in here…” Kiddo, you’re doing the right thing by looking for ways to improve what you do with your site, but you’re looking in the wrong place. Instead of looking at others, look at yourself. The underlying whit and the manner, in which I think you could express yourself, is going to give your readers way more entertainment and knowledge into YOU than anything else ever could.
You use too many words to say what you’re trying to express. Cut out the unnecessary verbiage, get immediately to the point and continue throwing in YOUR point of view. I love the way you look at things. I love the way you take something in, analyze it, and spit out something that no one else would have considered.
The blog is only a few months old and the author is young, but I think she could be one of the “good ones” if she sticks with this and develops the unique manner of writing that she’s just beginning to show us. There is no teen angst here, but that usually comes when “boys” walk into the picture and Tyler is a bit young for dating, just now. Give her a few years.
Hopefully time will also give her the ability to branch out into something more complex than a cookie-cutter template for her design. She has given herself a unique name (for a girl), she has a developing style of writing, and I think she’s going to be capable of going somewhere with this thing if she keeps at it. Unfortunately, her design isn’t going anywhere. It’s dull, predictable, and bland.
At the present time, the blog would really be of interest only to those in the early teen years, but quite frankly, teens don’t usually start blogging until they enter the angst ridden teenage dating scene. I guess one of the things that sets “Gummy Worms” apart is the fact that she is a teenager, yet she has a fantastic and upbeat outlook on life. I sincerely hope she sticks with this angle when she’s going through the more difficult teen years.
This blog may not be much now, but it’s full of potential. Tyler, I wish you absolutely the best. Don’t let me down girl, grow into yourself, bring your blog along for the ride, and wow us all.